Fire-fighting apparatus



Aug. 31,1926. 1,598,568

0. B. FIELDS FIRE FIGHTING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 13 1924 5& z

INVFNTOVR Ezdd ATTORNEYS Figure l is a side elevation of Patented Aug. 31, 1926.

UNITED STATES PTENT OFFICE.

CARL B. FIELDS, F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO PAUL JELENECK, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

FIRE-FiGI-ITING APPARATUS. 7

Application filed October 13, 1924. Serial No. 743,508.

This invention relates to a fire fighting apparatus and has for an object the provision of simple and efficient means whereby the advance of flames or smoke in any given direction can be opposed quickly and efiiciently by means of a blast of air.

A further object concerns the provision of simple and efficientmeans in the form of an engine driven propeller mounted on an adjustable platform, so that the blast of from the propeller can be directed quickly in any desired direction.

The invention is illustrated in the drawings, of which the apparatus;

Figure 2 is a plan View of the rear end of a vehicle with the fire fighting apparatus mounted thereon;

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view.

The form of the invention shown in the drawings is a preferred form, although it is understood that modifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts and in the character of the materials used may be adopted without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 7

To those familiar with the situation, the disastrous efliect of wind on lire is well known. Very often buildings and property lying in the path of the wind are a total loss. Very often fires that are fanned by advancing winds can only be checked when they have reached an open space, such as a wide street or a vacant lot. with the art of fighting fire will testify to the fact that a favorable wind is the most helpful agent in the control of fires. My

invention aims, therefore, to provide strong counter-acting currents of air in any desired direction by means of engine driven air propellers mounted on a trunnion which in turn are mounted on a suitable turntable.

' This apparatus is mounted on' a truck for quick transportation to the proper location.

The invention is also useful for producing air currents to control and direct smoke and fumes from buildings to enable people working on the outside of the building to do so with comparative safety. The same idea can be applied to decks, freight sheds and warshouses to keep the flames and smoke con fined to a small area. Furthermore, in buildings where the tire has started in an upper Those familiar story, acurrent or air strongly directed upwardly through the stairways and elevator prevent the fire from working trunnion frames 7 and 8, on which a shaft 9 is supported. This shaft 9 supports an engine 10 of any suitable type, which is adapted to drive a propeller 11. One end of the shaft 9 is provided with a gear 12 meshing with a worm .13 mounted on a shaft 1 1 and operated by a hand wheel 15.

While manipulating the hand wheels l and 5, the turntable can be rotated around the vertical axis and the engine can be rotated around the horizontal axis, so that the blast of air from the propeller 11 can be changed quickly and easily as desired. The mobility of the truck 1 also enables the apparatus to be moved from point to point or to have its general direction with regard to the advancing fire changed quickly.

The turntable 2 on its under surface is providedwith a plurality of rollers such as 16 journaled in suitable bearings and adapted to roll on the'upper surface of the gear 6. This gear is provided with a track or rail 17, on each side of which flanges 18 and 19 of the roller 16 are adapted to light.

It will thus be apparent that this apparatus is simple, efiicient and can be very quickly manipulated to direct a blast of air in any desired direction. By having a fleet of these units in a large, city or in a town, they can be moved from place to place to forma-n effective barrier for any advancing flame or to otherwise control flames, fumes and smoke for the purposes previously mentioned.

hat I claim is 1. An apparatus for fighting fires which comprises a mobile support rotatable about a given axis, an engine rotatable on said support about another axis, and an air propeller carried and driven by said engine.

2. An apparatus for fighting fires which comprisesa vehicle body, a turntable rotatably mounted thereon, trunnions on said turntable, and an engine rotatably mounted on said trunnionsand an air propeller carried and driven by the engine.

An apparatus for fighting comprises a vehicle body, aturntahle mounted thereon, means for rotating said turntable about a vertical axis, trunnions on said turntable, an engine supported on said runnions for movement around a horizon- 10 ta-l axis, means for adjusting the angular fires which 7 position of the engine on said trunnions, and an air propeller carried and driven by said engine. v

4. An apparatus for fighting fire which comprises a, vehicle, an engine mounted on said vehicle, an "air propeller-carried and driven by said engine, and means for moving said engine With respect to the vehicle body as desired in two lanes.

CA .-L B. FIELDS. 

